Health officials say a sixth child has died of the flu this season in Minnesota. The latest report from the Minnesota Department of Health says 13 people were hospitalized in the last week of February, down 29 from the week before.

A nurse from a Maple Grove home care facility is being investigated after allegedly touching a patient inappropriately last June. According to the complaint, during a visit on June 9, 2014 the nurse was helping the patient get ready for bed when the nurse offered to give the patient a back rub that led to alleged inappropriate touching.

An annual report on patient safety shows more errors but fewer deaths in Minnesota hospitals in the past year. The Department of Health found 277 so-called “adverse events” in categories long been tracked, such as wrong-site surgery or foreign objects left in a patient.

Regulators of Minnesota’s new medical cannabis program are seeking to certify laboratories to test the marijuana cultivated for medicinal use. The Department of Health advertised Tuesday for specialized labs to test for “content, contamination and consistency” of the drug. Applications are due next month and labs should be chosen by mid-April.

This week on WCCO Sunday Morning, Esme Murphy talked with Doug Schultz from the Minnesota Department of Health about the current controversy surrounding vaccinations and the high-profile measles outbreaks.

State officials will hold off for another year on deciding whether to expand Minnesota’s new medical marijuana program to residents suffering chronic pain. The move could someday extend the potentially potent medicine to tens of thousands more Minnesota residents and dramatically increase business for the state’s two medical marijuana manufacturers.

Potential users of medical marijuana have about one week to participate in a survey that could help the state get a picture of the likely demand for the drug. The Minnesota Department of Health has been conducting a voluntary survey of prospective medical marijuana patients since Jan. 20. The survey closes Friday.

On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health confirmed that the U of M student sickened with measles had been vaccinated. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control had reported six of the original 52 people who contracted the virus at Disneyland had gotten the shot as well.

So how can you get sick if you’ve had the vaccine? Good Question.
The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed Thursday that the University of Minnesota student sickened with measles had been vaccinated.

More than three quarters of Minnesotans favor the legalization of medical marijuana, according to a poll commissioned by the Minnesota chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (MN NORML).

A new survey shows that smoking rates among Minnesota’s 18-24 population have plunged since 2010. The Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey, released Thursday by ClearWay Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health, shows an overall drop in adult smoking.

Fewer Minnesotans are getting sick with the flu. The CDC downgraded the flu in Minnesota from widespread to regional on Thursday. The Minnesota Department of Health says 21 people were hospitalized with the flu this week. There were 80 last week.

State health officials want to know how many Minnesotans want medical marijuana and where they live. The state has struggled to answer those questions ahead of the new program’s launch in July. The Minnesota Department of Health thinks they’ll have about 5,000 patients but other estimates put it at 15,000 or more.

A report from the Minnesota Department of Health reveals that about 83,000 Minnesotans undergo procedures to treat chronic pain each year. The three-year study conducted by the MDH utilized the All Payer Claims Database, created in 2008 under Tim Pawlenty’s administration.

State health officials say they won’t be done watching for the spread of Ebola for at least another year. The Minnesota Department of Health is currently monitoring 47 residents who traveled from the West African countries ravaged by the deadly virus. As of Sunday, the state had cleared 216 travelers after a 21-day monitoring period. No cases have been confirmed in Minnesota.

A fourth child has died from influenza in Minnesota since late September, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The flu still remains widespread throughout the state, although hospitalizations and school outbreaks were significantly lower than last week.

You can’t see, smell or taste radon in your home. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there, according to Dr. Jon Cole of the Minnesota Poison Control System. “You have no symptoms while it’s happening, and then later on, eventually you … develop lung cancer,” Cole said. Radon is the leading environmental cause of lung cancer deaths in the U.S.

The Minnesota Department of Health is expected to release their newest flu report later Wednesday. According to the most recently released numbers from last week, the health department says 543 school outbreaks have been reported this season.

A Twin Cities mom says her 6-year-old daughter contracted the mumps despite getting all of her vaccines on time. The little girl, named Aurora, is in quarantine right now through Christmas to prevent others from getting the highly-contagious disease that has no known cure or treatment.